If you’ve had an upbringing remotely similar to mine, you may have found yourself with an ingrained belief that you ‘should’ be happy, always, that when you’re not happy, it must be because there is something about you that is wrong. The thing is we are all made up of a lifetime of experiences, and the bittersweet thing about life is that it’s not always joyful and easy. Some of us are lucky enough to have experienced true pain and hurt, some of us lucky enough to have not. Either way, we are wonderfully complex beings each with unique emotions and responses to situations we encounter. We are lucky because these experiences are always a chance to grow, expand and move forward, discovering deeper layers of ourselves and each other.
To let go of the need to ‘be happy’ and allow yourself to feel life fully, even amidst the sadness and pain is a truly liberating thing. There is nothing wrong with this. We too often suppress our emotions as a display of resilience, when we feel them rise up we tell ourselves to be strong, that everything is fine. Imagine a world where we all honoured our sadness and pain.
This is very different to becoming attached to our pain, Eckhart Tolle calls this the “pain body…devouring every negative thought” wanting to dissect these thoughts beyond what is helpful. It’s a fine line between acknowledgment and attachment.
When any feeling rises up we should acknowledge it, say hi to it, feel it in all of its complexity, by doing so, we will naturally and gently release it, and in turn, contribute just a little bit more to our growth and expansion. Allow yourself to bloom.
Sent with love,
Emily x